Reminders For Amber #5 - Be Compassionate

The Dalai Lama has been quoted to say that, "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.  Without them, humanity will not survive."  Always show compassion for others.  Treat people the way you want to be treated.  Practice the golden rule of "doing unto others, what you would want others to do unto you."

Wish everyone well and help those who are not, in whatever way you can, be it small or great.  No matter how hard or bitter life becomes, find the means to always be kind.  Simple acts of listening, caring or simply just being there for someone can make a huge difference in their lives, and also in yours.

Know that compassion and tolerance are not signs of weakness but of great strength.  Having a soft heart in a hard world means you are braver than most, indeed courageous.

Reminders For Amber #4 - Be Humble

You are awesome.  You are magnificent.  You are beautiful and you are great.  You know that.  You should always remember that.  But you do not have to act like a diva or brag about your talents or what you know or act like a snotty, uptight, condescending witch.  Nobody likes a braggart.  You yourself hate people who are too hoity-toity.

So try to stay humble no matter how high you've gone.  Stay rooted by remembering where you came from.  Treat people the same way regardless of their status is life.

Do not feed your ego to the point that it will devour who you are.  Stay true to who you are, stay humble when you are in the spotlight.

Reminders for Amber #3 - Be Brave

You know that saying, "What doesn't kill you makes your stronger." Well if you face your fears, you become stronger and better each time.  No matter how little or insignificant you think your particular fear is; face it.  No matter how huge or insurmountable you think your fear is; face it.  The only way to solve any problem is to face it head on.  Take the proverbial bull by its horns.  Own up to your mistakes, admit your faults and make up for whatever wrong that you have done.

Often we fear what we do not know.  So get to know your own monsters and learn to live with them.  Wear your brave boots to fight them.  As your mom, I will try to help you as much as I can but our own demons we have to face alone. Be brave enough to conquer them.

Reminders For Amber #2 - Be Positive

Be positive.

No matter what happens in your life, in your day, in every moment that you live, look to the bright side.  Find the silver lining which may be difficult when you are feeling really down but keep trying to see the good and the positive in anything and everything.

This is key to your survival.  This is a choice you must make in order to sink or swim in life.  But I do hope that you swim because sinking is just not an option. Find that (optimism) within you, your protons (hahaha!) and charge your self with positive energy.

Old folks believe that good vibes attract good things and that's not bad at all.  Cheer up!  Stay positive!  Live a good life.

Reminders for Amber #1 - Be Confident

This month until the next few days, I'd like to start an uplifting photo blog featuring personal photos with positive quotes for my almost a teenager daughter, Amber.  I'm calling this series, "Reminders for Amber."  Stuff that hopefully will help, guide, encourage her and others who may find comfort, strength, joy, whatever in these positive quotes and photos.

The first one is below.  Self confidence is the best outfit.  Rock it!  Own it!  Dearest Amber, you are capable of being great and the possibilities are endless.  This year, you will be a true-blue teenager and with that, I wish you Self confidence in times of doubt.  When you feel shy or know fear in whatever situation, remember to look within and find your core.  There you are pure. There you are strong.  There you are whoever you want to be.  Rock it!  Own it!

10 Years of Being Amber's Nanay

How time flies.  I have put together a photo of Amber and me when she was but a couple of moths old and another one more recently.  In the first photo, she and I are getting ready for her Baptism.  She was baptised in St. Joseph Catholic Church in Abu Dhabi on February 13, 2003 by Father Eugene Mattioli.  In the second photo, taken May 17th 2013, Amber is 10 years old.  I just realised that I have been mom for 10 years and just dumbfounded at how fast time does fly.  My baby is now almost as tall as I am, have bigger feet and hands than me and well, all-round bigger that I was when I was 10!  The once tiny baby who I could make "hele" (sing/lull to sleep) with just one arm is now this budding young lady who can choose her own clothes to wear, make her own sandwich and an extra one for me, give me a glass of water when she sees me busy working on the computer, and lovingly says, "Pa-kiss nga?!" when she knows I'm busy doing chores and need a break.  From the first picture to the second one is 10 years.  A decade of memories to cherish, love to share and just many, many things to be thankful for.  Thank you Amber for being my  little one and for being one of the best gifts in my life.  I am looking forward to decades and decades more...

Little Big Feet Girl

My daughter's feet are now officially bigger than mine.  When last year I would be the one to "make pamana"  (hand down) to her my shoes as I don't often use them or they are "more bagay" (more appropriate) for her age, like sneakers and sandals; now, I'm the one she hands-down her shoes to!

She now a size 8 (US 38, UK 6) while I remain a size 6 (US 36, UK 4).  Before getting pregnant I was a size 5, 5 & 1/2 and I've always found sizes for me in the children's section.  Not that I was bothered, I found kids shoes were cuter, and kinder to my feet than adults' shoes.  I was never a fan of high-heels, Amber calls them torture tools, and feel more comfortable with flats or half-inch to 1-inch pumps.  Sensible shoes, my grandmother called them.

One of my favourite things are shoes.  When I was little, I remember my mom was heading for groceries at the nearby supermarket and asked me what I wanted as 'pasalubong' (gift) and I promptly replied, "Shoes!"  When other kids would be happy with chocolates or toys, I was happiest with a brand new shoe.  I totally understood former First Lady Imelda Marcos and her 3,000+ collection of shoes.  Or how Rachel Greene, Jennifer Aniston's character in F.R.I.E.N.D.S set out to find a job and came back with a pair of boots on sale! LOL!  I know the feeling when another Jennifer, Lopez this time, put her own life in danger as she tried to save her shoe from a runaway garbage bin in the movie, The Wedding Planner.

One of my guilty pleasures would be shoe-window-shopping.  Going to shoe stores, trying shoes on, checking out the craftsmanship, the interiors, the design and how it would feel in my own small feet.  I think my daughter had caught on my shoe madness.  She joins me in my shoe window shopping digs and I can say she had good sense in choosing sensible shoes.  The no-nonsense Linco blood is well and truly alive in her, my grandmother couldn't be more proud!

Last weekend, we cleaned our shoe rack and got rid of old shoes, and shoes that never even got worn.  There was even a struggle between me and my husband about a fave flats that he thinks too grotty to keep!  But it's a favourite!  Oh yes, I can be shoe-sentimental.  I can't help it.

Amber exclaims, "Mom, I've got more shoe than space in my shoe rack!" As we each have our own racks to organise, weed-out and clean occasionally.  What a problem!  I recall children in the Philippines going to school either in really old, hand-me-down flip-flops or barefoot and I tell her so.  She thinks a bit, pondering on what I've said and her next words amazed me.

She said, "Well let's set aside the ones that are still clean and new-looking and donate them to poor children."      My heart welled with pride and love for my little big girl!  She is truly so much better than me in so many ways.  At 10 years old, I would have kept all my shoes and not even think about sharing them to anyone, even to the poorest.  She has done the same for her clothes too!

My Little Big Girl does not only have big feet, she also has a big heart.  

China: The Sleeping Giant

Growing up with a precocious little munchkin can be both a joy and a challenge. One has to prepare for all those 'whys' and a seemingly unending stream of questions. But at times it can bring big laughs especially if your little one is developing a wicked sense of homour like mine.

The many anecdotes I've gathered about my daughter, I have called Amberisms and have posted some on Facebook. I've been bad at updating my Blog so here is an attempt to rectify that. One of the earliest 'Ambersisms' is about China and since I've done it the text-way in Facebook, I'll try to do it ala cartoon here in my blog.

So one day, my then seven year old (she's eight now!) was having breakfast and I had prepared hotdogs, scrambled eggs and toast. She was gobbling all these up at such speed that I asked her, "Where did all those food go?"

She promptly replied, "China." And that was that. I shrugged and let it rest.

After a few minutes, I was sitting idly reading a book and she came up to me, smiling and said, "Mom, meet China." And this while she proudly points at her stomach. I had to agree, it is aptly named for my little one's version of China is indeed a sleeping giant!

Tooth Fairies

Amber lost her two front teeth aftern weeks of dread and with much coaxing from us to just pull the damned teeth off! She had been stubborn at being taken to the dentist. She didn't want us to put anything on her gums - ice perhaps, or, a toothache drop - no! She was adamant that we leave her two front teeth, hanging like two naughty kids on a monkey bar using only one hand and using the other to wave at us in a taunting manner, all alone.

One just miraculously jumped off her mouth in her sleep and thankfully she was pragmatic enough to awake and also awaken me to show me the already free trickster of a tooth and declare that she will give it to the tooth fairy. In her excitement, an this was whilst getting a glass of water from the water cooler in the kitchen, she dropped the loose tooth and there it has joined the mysteries of the white and sometimes off-white expanse of the kichen floor-dom. Reassuring her that giving one's tooth to the rats/mice is also a good option and told her some long-forgotten Filipino parents' tale about exchanging your tooth for rodent-tooth as they are quite sturdy and strong. Still half asleep, she accepted this and didn't make any more fuss.

Front teeth number two took its time by simple hanging in there in usual annoying fashion, being almost but not quite out, giving my poor daughter a hard time. She was by now a bit restless to have it taken but the long weekend (3 day off) meant closed dental offices as well. She finally agreed to an ice cube to ease the pain in her gums and with her own chubby fingers swaying the tooth sideways, she managed to take it off and with much pride!

She is now totally "bungi" (with gaps in her teeth) and proud of it! She's been showing everyone who would care to spare the time and attention her missing front teeth. However she went to school today and started it by bot opening her mouth for fear of being teased. But seeing another classmate in the same situation, they wore their gaps as a medal of sorts, showing it off like battle scars. She wrote a note to the tooth fairy and enclosed her second front tooth in an envelop. Now I'm thinking of what trinket to give her in exchange...a new set of toothbrush and toothpaste would be pragmatic, but what about the fun?

Letter to tooth fairy, photos of the happy "bungi" and more Amber stories to follow in my next blogs so watch this space!

Amber: The Graduate

27th March 2008 marked Amber's graduation from Kindergarten. The end of her pre-school days and the beginning of her grade school years. She begins the bridge course for grade 1 this 6th April.

We're all excited and arrived at Al Ain Juniors' School at 5 minutes before 5:00 pm, Amber went to her classroom and we parents had to sunbathe for a while. Oliver actually managed to sleep! It was hot and everyone was sweaty but quite patient on this special day, parents all sat down and chatted, cameras and videos ready.




My Supervisor, Mark Suares is the school's guest speaker. Talk about Al Ain being such a small world.

Being the stage mom that I am, I managed to wheedle my way into the very front of the stage. Amber saw me and pointed me to her classmates.

Capturing that perfect Kodak moment was a total failure...sorry Amber...where are the professional photographers when you need one?!

OK now it's time for her speech!

Taymur spoke something and Amber replied, "Thanks Taymur, that's wonderful!"

Jehan said something and Amber replied, "That's right Jehan, good answer!"

Mrs. Hemalatha spoke a few words, telling her pupils that she will miss them all too.

No stage fright! Speech went well, didn't forget her lines....a future in showbusiness or politics?

Some picture-taking just after they went off the stage.






At home, the happy graduate showed off her make-up which one of the teachers put on her while waiting for their turn.
Congratulations Amber! Her overall grade is A+, she is at the top of her class and won 2nd place in Story-Telling Competition. Final Exam papers, official graduate photo, graduation certificate and special awards will be posted on this blog soon.

Amber the Artist

Watercolor Expressions by Amber Declan

She's now 5 and still loves painting or doodling with crayons or oil pastels. Amber has also learned to write love notes to family and friends. Here's her very first exhibit. They are all water colour paintings on A4 paper and she has actually named each one. Enjoy!

This first one she named, "Man jumping" There does seem to be an image of a man in black.

This one is simply, "Blue skies" (parang song ng Hale)

This one she calls, "Earth and Sky".

This one, she cannot make up her mind whether to call it, "Pusit" (and laughs out loud!) or "Soy Sauce". I didn't make this up, the child has a quirky sense of humour (thank God!).
This one we named together, I called it "Straight Lines" but she said, no, "B lines" and painted a yellowish B on the paper while correting me that not all the lines are straight. (Oo nga naman!)

This one is called, "The Farmer"


Finally, this one was made especially for her dad who got sick with the flu. It is meant to be a 'get-well' painting with flowers she first drew in pencil and water-coloured. There's a Get Wel (missing one L) message at the bottom of the page.



Thank you for visiting our blogsite. Keep dropping by for more updates in the future.

Meet Amber (4 years old - March 2007)

Cueshe's "Walang Yaman"

My family has been watching GMA Pinoy TV's Asian Treasures for a while now and we really enjoy this particular program. My 4 year old daughter also likes the show. Recently, my husband was able to get a copy of the show's theme song, "Walang Yaman" by Cueshe (pronounced Cue-shay), the band who sang it and I've been listening to the same song in the car while driving around Al Ain.

There's this part in the lyrics where the band inked: "Di man ako tulad nila, Walang porma, walang pera"

My daughter listening at the back of the car suddenly exclaimed, "Ay kawawa naman pala yan sha mommy!" (Oh he's quite pitiful mom!)

I couldn't help but laugh because she was so innocent thinking that the singer indeed is poor and destitute.

ILYSFTBOMH*

I’m always thankful for my lunch breaks. Since my daughter has been coming to school, I get to drop her off and pick her up everyday. We’d share lunch at home and it has given me time to forget about work for a while and enjoy my daughter for at least an hour during these mid-day breaks.


But my favorite time is when I’m about to leave and return for work. One cannot describe how my heart swells as I see her little form standing by our door, blowing these imaginary kisses to me while saying “See you later mom!” or “I love you mom”. This is the time I send a short prayer of thanks to God above for giving me the gift of motherhood and an extra prayer for my daughter’s well-being.

Last night, I was snuggling with my gift, Amber, while watching Naruto (a Japanese anime) when she just blurted, “I love you mommy, straight from the bottom of my heart*.”

I had to fight the tears from falling as I know now, what it exactly feels like when “my cup runneth over.” This moment I will forever keep in my heart. And when there will be times in the future that you would do or say something hurtful to me, I will recall this moment so I will not forget that you are my sweet child and nothing could tear us apart. That whatever you may be then, does not change what you were – right in this minute where you are mine and you uttered these words that made me cry of intense happiness.

I close my eyes and send a prayer of thanks again for being able to experience love at this level. I count myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have found a love like that of a mother and her child.

Bye Buluts! Hopefully by May-May?

Amber's better now, her chicken pox have all dried up and have slowly gone away. She's been outside of the house, both to Jimi Mall and Al Ain Mall to scour her favorite shops for new toys and books that amuses most four-year-olds. She's declared herself to be "cured"! And celebrated by eating a whole pouch of Maltesers, her favorite chocolate junk food.

She is now checking out the pock marks and have been making sure they go away by telling herself that Hyuga Neji (a character from famous Japanese anime, Naruto) will come and erase them all. She's also declared that she has a huge crush on Kiba! (another character from Naruto) but I suspect that it is only becuase Kiba has a cute, tiny dog named Akumaru. She is afterall, fond of dogs and cats and sleeps with a plethora of stuffed animals dominated by dogs. Her favorite stuffed toy "May-May the dog" which she's been hugging and tugging along wherever she goes (yes, even outside the house but only up to the car) has been with her since she was one. She is now four.

I've been trying to wean her off Maymay and have offered newer, cuter options to the toy and still she refuses. I've even gone the scietific and clinical explanation that constant use will wear and tear Maymay and she should be given a bit of R&R to live longer; but I was met with an adamant, "No."

Obviously the toy had been washed and sun-dried through the years and has been looking rather sorry lately. Despite this, it is the most loved and most hugged critter of the bunch. I remember my favorite shirt, worn thin from laundry and constant use, seams gone at some parts, color - an undefined beigey hue...and yet I wore it until my husband, fed up, used it to wipe my daughter's vomit one time she got sick. I still miss the soft, comfortable feel of that shirt and hesitate to end Amber and Maymay's relationship. OK, perhaps not just yet...

Chicken Pox

Amber's got the chicken pox and has been whining about how itchy her "butligs" (the postules) are! She called them "wheezy patchouli" the evil cousins of her normal "itchy patchouli" (what she calls he ticklish parts and brother to "outchy patchouli" (the name she gave the bumps and bruises she gets).

In the hospital last Thursday, I took her immediately as soon as I saw several pimple-like formations on her neck for I had suspected she will get it from the classmates as half her class have had the same illness going round. She's been particularly close to one girl who had just had it and I was sure she'd also get the same being exposed to this classmate of hers.

She immediately told her doctor, in a matter-of-fact way that she doesn't want any injections and that she only wants to have the stethoscope used on her. Then she said that she only wants Calpol as her medicine as that tastes like strawberry.

The good doctor from Oasis Hospital, Dr. William Kuttrum, gave her Calpol, antihistamine and calamine lotion for the itchies. She was very happy with the way her hospital visit turned out, being not too scary at all, compared to her previous visit where she had to do an x-ray as well as blood tests!

She's been looking at herself in the mirror, vain girl, and saying she wants all of these patchoulis to go away. She's also been using the pox as an excuse to eat more ice cream and chocolate claiming they are the medicines to this illness, as if I don't know any better :-)

So far she's doing OK despite some itchy episodes and is enjoying the time home. More updates and pictures in my next post.

Amber's Very First School Picture

So this wasn't exactly the best shot and imagine taking a photo of more than ten wiggling, constantly moving, eyes always roaming, heads forever turning, fidgeting, jumping bunch of kindergarten kids?! But here it is, Amber's class picture with her Junior KG-C classmates. Her teacher was Mrs. Sabina Sharif but she had to go back to India. Now, her new teacher and the one on this pictures is Mrs. Fatimi.

The Poser thrives

It seems she's enjoying her camera poses and so she's been at it again! This time we had consumed an entire memory disk as she won't stop posing and smiling at the camera (how showbiz!) and later, I found out these print-outs cost a fortune! So here's a few that I chose to show how Amber Declan is such a poser at the age of 3 years and 11 months!

Poser!

I'm not so sure if my daughter has what it takes to be in the public eye. When she was younger, about 2 - 3 years old she'd dance or sing at a request, more promptly so, with a bribe of candy or toy. Now she's beginning to feel a bit shy and admits to it by saying, "Oh I'm a little bit shy!" She admits to being a little bit looney too - scary stuff.

So here I was asking to have my picture taken to renew licenses and stuff when she asks if she can have her picture taken too. She chose her own chair, sat and striked a pose and viola....Amber Declan Casas-Eliserio, folks.

Philippine National Anthem

As Filipinos living abroad, it is often dificult to introduce our children to Filipino culture. Recently, I have been teaching my three-year-old how to sing the Philippine National Anthem. Since this has been my interest, I went online to search for a sound file that I could use for her to listen to. Oh boy, did I find out a lot about my country's anthem.

I knew that the Tagalog version was composed by Julian Felipe to use for the establishment of the first Philippine government under Emilio Aguinaldo. However I did not know that the lyrics weren't written by Felipe. The original lyrics was, in fact, written in Spanish by Jose Palma, a year after the marching band anthem was played in 1898. Later, a bloke by the name of Felipe de Leon translated it into Tagalog in the early 1900s.

During what my grandparents called peace time and after the Japanese war, an English version of the Philippine anthem was written and had been what my grandparents sang in school.

Here are the webpages that helped my in my anthem quest:
an MIT page
The Wikipedia
And a site that has an MP3 audio file

But the main reason of this posting, and why it is here under "Amber's Nanay" section is because it seems, my daughter has had a new take in the songs lyrics and even a bit of deviation from the original melody.

Here side by side are the original Tagalog (first stanza) and my daughter's own:

The Tagalog version Bayang magiliw Perlas ng Silanganan Alab ng puso Sa dibdib mo'y buhay

Amber's own Bayan may giliw Pera sa Silangan Lab nya ang puso Sa didib may Dubai

But she later changed Dubai to buhay when everyone guffawed at her attempts, sensing not only dischordant notes but irregular lyrics as well. But it was a blast listening to her. Hmmm, maybe an audio file of Amber's version? In the next post perhaps....